A week after vandals lit a fire and wrote profanities outside Congregation Mikveh Israel, Jewish community leaders, elected officials and representatives from other faith traditions gathered at the historic Old City synagogue to denounce antisemitism and any attacks on religious institutions.
In three separate – but possibly connected – incidents reported to police within a 12-hour period Oct. 22, suspects ignited a blaze inside a dumpster, attempted to break into the building, and scribbled hateful messages on a monument outside the synagogue, located near 4th and Arch streets, authorities said.
Mikveh Israel, among the oldest synagogues in the nation, has been vandalized repeatedly in recent months, according to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
“While these incidents remain under investigation and the intentions are still unclear, these disturbing acts profoundly impact our Jewish community and challenge our city’s fundamental commitment to tolerance and mutual respect,” Michael Balaban, the organization’s president and CEO, said.
A slip of paper still shielded some of the graffiti Wednesday marking a memorial outside Mikveh Israel in honor of Jonathan Netanyahu, the brother of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who died while serving in the Israeli military during the 1976 Entebbe raid. Both attended Cheltenham High School while their family lived in the Philadelphia suburbs.
“What’s happened here this last week was pure antisemitism, pure hatred, ugly,” past synagogue board president Leon Levy said. “Thank heavens we withstood it.”
The arson shattered a nearby window, and a fence and door were damaged during the break-in attempt, according to police.
Detectives have posted surveillance footage to the PPD’s YouTube page showing the suspects in all three incidents, though no arrests have been made, investigators said Wednesday. Anyone with information can call the Central Detective Division at 215-686-3093 or call or text 215-686-TIPS (8477).
“This is very important to the Philadelphia Police Department,” Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at Wednesday’s news conference. “We’re going to be relentless in our pursuit of anyone who comes to our synagogues or any place of worship across the city and engages in behavior that is unacceptable.”
The Anti-Defamation League documented 8,873 instances of antisemitism across the country in 2023, a 140% increase from the prior year and the highest count since the organization began tracking incidents in 1979. Much of the activity occurred following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel.
Locally, the Jewish Federation has recorded 130 cases this year, Balaban said.
“Make no mistake, an attack on any synagogue is always an act of anti-semitism,” said Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation. “An attack on a house of worship, no matter what the reason, is an act of hate.”
“It is hate because it isn’t just a physical attack on a building,” she continued. “It’s an attack on the very fabric of our communities. It’s an attack intended to strike fear and terror in our hearts.”
